Last updated : January 25, 2019 3:59 pm
While India is a treasure trove of art and handicrafts, it seems hardly reflected in our retail designs. But Tata Group’s saree retailing venture Taneira, little over a year into existence, takes a refreshingly different route with a store design ID that celebrates India’s rich artistic heritage.
In the words of Dharmesh Jadeja, Founder, Dustudio, “Honestly, we have done very few retail projects. However, in Taneira project, we realized that the brand ethos resonates with us, which is eco-friendly and contemporary, and also since we are extremely sensitive towards Indian artisans.”
While the whole store is an abundant celebration of Indian-ness, VMRD picks up a few most noteworthy elements.
Wax pods: These cotton pods are made using a wax mould, which is placed in mud. Hot brass is poured into this mould. The brass then takes the shape of the pods to create these beautiful ‘Wabi Sabi (a Japanese word meaning ‘beauty in imperfection’ pods. Celebrating the touch of hand, these pods make their journey from Pondicherry, handmade by craftsman Saravanan.
Recycled wooden elements: The recycled wooden ceiling bears stylish lotus flowers, painstakingly hand hammered and connoting everything auspicious. The lotus flower is also one of the oldest motifs in the world of sarees.
“What you see in our first flagship at South Extension Market in Delhi, spread across 7000 sq ft, is a consolidated and detailed representation of how exactly we want Taneira store’s design ID to be. Going forward, we will take inspiration from this gigantic displays and may take one or two elements and amplify them in our upcoming stores. For example, the immediate next store at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, takes inspiration from water bodies and works around them. Similarly, the future stores will explain on one or two elements from the original ID. Though the initial stores have been made through a lot of sourcing and inventing, we will soon standardize our fixtures, lighting etc., with regular vendors.
It’s a myth that environmentally-conscious practices or working closely with artisans and craftsmen make the process lengthy. There processes can easily be fallen under a system and standardizations. Taneira stores are wonderful examples of how raw art can be integrated into functional design. While 70% elements of future stores will be standardized, we will leave 30% to local flavor.